Attachment for tractors



' Filed Jan. 13, 1948 Nov. 22, 1949 w. H. UPTON 2,488,695

ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 William H. Upton INVENTOR.

Nov. 22, 1949 w. H. UPTON ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTORS.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 13, 1948 Fig. 6.

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'INVENTOR.

Patented Nov. 22, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTORS William H. Upton, Grand Prairie, Tex.

Application January 13, 1948, Serial No. 2,061

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in tractors and the primary object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved blade attachment for tractors that is applicable for removing, replacing or leveling earth work, gravel or the like in a. convenient manner.

Another important object of the present in-. vention is to provide a blade attachment for tractors including novel and improved means for operatively applying the same relative to the lift arms or scoop of a front end loader or tractor so that the said blade will be raised or lowered by the conventional lift arms of the tractor on which the same is applied.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an attachment for tractors that is extremely small and compact in structure facilitating the usage of the same on earth work or the like which is undesirable for heavy bulldozers, and which may be quickly and readily applied to or removed from a tractor or front end loader in a convenient manner.

A still further aim of the present invention is to provide a blade attachment for tractors that is simple and practical in construction, strong and reliable in use, neat and attractive in appearance, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the-details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a front end loader or tractor and showing the present blade construction applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the present blade construction and showing the same removed from the tractor or front end loader;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the present blade construction, and with parts broken away and shown in sections;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the anchoring members used in conjunction with the present invention; and

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of the present blade construction in slightly modified form.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration, there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the numeral Ill represents a conventional tractor or front end loader generally which includes a pair of longitudinally extending, spaced parallel lift arms l2 the rear ends l4 of which are pivotally secured to the rear axle l6 of the tractor l0, and the forward ends I8 of which are pivotally secured to a scoop or bucket 20. These lift arms l2 are operatively connected in a usual manner to the hydraulic lift mechanism 22 of the tractor so that the lift arms I2 may be raised or lowered in a convenient manner by a driver positioned on the tractors seat 24.

A well known holding mechanism 25 is associated with the lift arms and will hold the scoop against pivotal movement relative to the lift arms until an operator pulls a cable 21 for moving the holding mechanism out of engagement with the scoop.

The present invention does not intend to claim the above conventional structure, but is merely a blade attachment that is to be used in conjunction with the same for pushing or dragging earth work, gravel or the like during excavating work, and filling or leveling operations.

The numeral 26 represents a pair of preferably channel shaped side beams having inner or rear terminals 28 and forward or outer terminals 30. Removably secured to the forward terminals 36 of the side beams 26 by fasteners or the like 32, are upper and lower substantially triangular attaching plates 34 and 38. The plates 34 and 38 extend forwardly and outwardly from the forward terminals of the side beams and are removably secured by fasteners or the like 38 to the leg portions 40 of a forward or main channel shaped beam 42. The plates 34 and 36 retain the side beams 26 in a fixed position to the forward beam 42 and the side beams in spaced parallel relation to each other.

The numeral 44 represents an arcuate blade having a rear convexed face 46 to which there is rigidly secured by welding or the like a, pair of spaced parallel attaching strips 48 that frictionally engage the opposed inner faces of the leg portions 40 for the forward beam 42. Fasteners 50 extend through the web portion of the forward beam 42 and the blade 44 to removably secure the blade relative to the forward beam 42.

The rear terminals 28 of the side beams 26 are formed with longitudinal slots 52 in their web portions which oppose longitudinal slots 54 provided in reinforcing plates 56 that are rigidly secured to the web portions of the side beams 26.

Fixedly secured to the outer side walls of the scoop 2ll, is a pair of anchor or base plates 58 that rigidly support pivot and locking lugs 60 which slidably engage the slots 52 and 54 provided in the rear terminals of the side beams 28 and the reinforcing plates 55 carried by the rear terminals of said side beams. Locking bolts 82 extend through opposed apertures 64 provided in the leg portions of the side beams 28, adjacent the rear ends 28 of said side beams, and prevent disengagement of the lugs 60 with the slots 52 and 54. These bolts 62 are provided with pivotal locking plates 68 that retain the bolts relative to the side beams 26.

Adjacent the forward terminals 30 of the side beams 26, there are provided apertures 68 that register with suitable apertures provided in the side walls 20, so that suitable fasteners may be inserted through the apertures 68 and the apertures provided'in the scoop in order to retain the side beams in a fixed position relative to the scoop.

Reference is now directed to Figure 6, wherein there is disclosed a manner of attaching the blade to the forward beam 42 in slightly modified form.

In this embodiment, the forward beam 42 is re-' versed so that its web portion faces forwardly. Removably secured to the web portion of the forward beam 42 by fasteners or the like 14, is an upper arcuate blade 16 and a lower arcuate blade ll either of which may be removed for replacement or repair in a convenient manner.

Obviously, the present blade construction is so applied to the scoop 20 that the same will be raised or lowered by the conventional lift arms I! of the said tractor. The manner of attaching the said blade to the scoop is suchas to permit the same to be quickly and readily removed from the scoop during operations where only the scoop is necessary. However, should the tractor operator desire to push earth work or to drag earth work into a crater or holethat is to be filled, the blade may be quickly and readily applied to the scoop to provide a convenient means for handling earth work, gravel or the like in an economical manner.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. An attachment for tractors having a pair of lift arms and an earth-engaging scoop carried by the lift arms, said attachment comprising a Pair of side beams, means for removably securing said side beams relative to the scoop for actuation of said side beams by the lift arms, a forward beam carried by said side beams, and a blade removably carried by said forward beam, said means for removably securing said side beams relative to the scoop including a pair of base plates fixedly secured to the scoop, and lugs carried by said plates, said side beams having slots receiving said lugs.

2. An attachment for tractors having a pair of lift arms and an earth-engaging scoop carried by the lift arms, said attachment comprising a pair of side beams including rear and forward portions, the rear portions of said side beams having longitudinal slots, base plates fixed to the scoop including outwardly projecting lugs receiving the slots in the rear portions of said side beams, means for retaining the rear portions of said side beams relative to said lugs, means for removably securing the forward portions of said side beams relative to said scoop, a forward beam fixed to the forward portions of said side beams, and a blade removably carried by said forward beam.

. WILLIAM H. UPTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references flle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS are of record in the 

